Prosocial behavior across distance in typical populations.
The work we do in special populations ultimately stems from an interest in identifying the psychological features that underlie exceptional prosocial behavior in typical adults. Indeed, people often favor helping those close to them over distant others and perceive a conflict between maximizing global welfare and fulfilling obligations to themselves and those nearby. However, our findings suggest that the same features that promote close relationships and self-concern can also drive concern for others at greater distances. This is promising, because it indicates that capacities most adults already possess — care for themselves and their close connections — can be expanded to include distant others without undermining existing bonds.
While our research shows that some features that promote the expansion of prosocial concern across distance in the general population are rooted in stable personality traits, others, such as capacities in imagination, coping strategies in the face of grand challenges, moral values, reasoning, and empathy, are more malleable. Consequently, we've found that intervening on these more malleable features can have profound consequences on altruistic attitudes and behaviors.
SELECT PUBLICATIONS
*Denotes Joint First-Authorship and Equal Contribution. †Denotes mentorship or co-mentorship of first author.
Law, K. F., Bae, S., Young, L., & Syropoulos S. (2026). Ideological differences in moral concern reflect circle expansion, not inversion. In Press at Political Psychology.
Bae, S., †Syropoulos, S., †Law, K. F., O’Connor, B. B., Amormino, P., Crimston, C., Bastian, B., Marsh, A., & Young, L. (2026). Altruistic, more than reputational concerns, drive legacy motives, values, and aspirations across the world. Personality and Individual Differences, 257, 113804. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2026.113804.
Link(s) to Press Coverage: Nautilus Magazine
Law, K. F., Syropoulos, S., O’Connor, B. B., & Young, L. (2026). The probabilistic price of life across time: Generational and probabilistic distance render a life today worth more than ten tomorrow. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 52(4), 1019–1039. https://doi.org/10.1177/01461672241303993
Law, K. F., Syropoulos, S., Coleman, M., Gainsburg, I., & O’Connor, B. B. (2026). Moral future-thinking: Does the moral circle stand the test of time? Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 52(3), 592–620. https://doi.org/10.1177/01461672241284324
Law, K. F.*, Syropoulos, S.*, Crimston, C. R., Markowitz, E., Milfont, T. L., Claessens, S., Kyritsis, T., Atkinson, Q., Bastian, B., & Rottman, J. (2025). Cross-national insights into moral expansiveness: Selective valuation of nature versus humans. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 107, 102778. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2025.102778
Syropoulos, S., & Law, K. F. (2024). Cultural tightness and its association with national levels of peace: Evidence from a cross-national investigation. Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, 30(3), 445–453. https://doi.org/10.1037/pac0000725
Syropoulos, S.* & Law, K. F.*, & Young, L. (2024). Caring for present and future generations alike: Longtermism and moral regard across temporal and social distance. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 13684302241242115. https://doi.org/10.1177/13684302241242115
Law, K. F., Campbell, D., & Gaesser, B. (2022). Biased benevolence: The perceived morality of effective altruism across social distance. Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin, 1461672211002773. https://doi.org/10.1177/01461672211002773
Fowler, Z., Law, K. F., & Gaesser, B. (2021). Against empathy bias: The moral value of equitable empathy. Psychological Science, 32(5), 766–779. https://doi.org/10.1177/095679762097996
Link(s) to Press Coverage: The Conversation
ONGOING WORK
*Denotes Joint First-Authorship and Equal Contribution. †Denotes mentorship or co-mentorship of first author.
Law, K. F.*, Antoniadis, A.*, Rogers, B., Young, L., Goya-Tochetto, D., Amormino, P., & Syropoulos, S. (2026). Impartial intergenerational beneficence predicts interest in high-impact, long-term oriented careers. Under Revision.
Law, K. F., Young, L., & Syropoulos, S. (2026). A one-year longitudinal investigation of the association between self- and other-oriented future concern. Under Review.
Law, K. F.*, Xiao, Z.*, Wu, D., Mah, A., Dixon-Gordon, K., Markowitz, E., Nteta, T., Reid, A., Ginn, J., Suh, S. M., Lickel, B., Young, L., & Syropoulos, S. (2025). Perceived similarity and its consequences: Political misperceptions and intergroup attitudes in the U.S. Under Review.
Law, K. F., Young, L., & Syropoulos, S. (2025). Who cares about the future? A large scale investigation into the sociodemographic predictors of self- and other-oriented future concern. Under Review.
Fowler, Z., Stone, K., Law, K. F., Young, L., & Syropoulos, S. (2025). Uncovering and targeting individual differences predicting identification with all of humanity. Under Review.